Hair-treating composition



Patented May 1928.

m8! O, SCHNELL, Oi OHICAGt), ILLINOIS.

HAIR-TREATING COKI'OSITION.

Io Drawing. Original application filed October 14, 1926, Serial ll'o. 141,475. Divided and thin application filed April 11, 1927. Serial No. 188,008.

This invention relates to improvements in hair treating compositions and more particularly to a composition of matter to be used in the process of permanent hair wave ing, and is a division oi an application filed b me on October 14, 1926, caring Serial 0. 141,47 5, wherein the hair treating composition was disclosed in the form of a thin wafer or cake enclosed in an envelope of 10 cheese cloth or like fabric, and forming what is known in the art as a steam pad.

For the purpose of the present disclosure, the manner in which the composition is a plied to the hair or the particular vehic e used in its application is not important, since the inventlon'herein set forth pertains more particularly to the chemical ingredients and properties of the composition.

The chief objection to the ordinary hair treating compositions now in use is the absence of-those properties which insure protection to the hair against the destructive action of excessive heat, as well as the chemical action of the in edients. In fact, the process of hair waving as now practiced is attended with more or less uncertainty, in-

asmuch as the results are quite dependent upon the skill and expertness of the operator in the regulation of the intensity and duration of the heat. 1

The purpose therefore of the present invention is to provide a hair treating composition which has chemical properties calculated to protect the hair against the injurious effects of excessive heat and to other-. wise preserve the texture of the hair in its natural fineness and luster.

The following is a full and complete description of the preferred composition of the hair treating substance and the method of compounding the same.

In general, the hair treating substance consists of an emulsified oil, mixed with a salt which when dissolved in water, shows a weak alkaline reaction, and a filler, the composition being initially prepared in a high plastic paste form.

The emulsified oil consists of a suitable vegetable, animal or other non-drying oil, an emulsifying agent, such as a. suitable grade or kind of colloidal clay, and water, as the vehicle for the emulsification. By preference, I use either olive oil or castor oil and colloidal clay of the bentonite (wilkenite) type. To form the emulsion, I take 25 parts by weight of the olive oil, 5 parts by weight of bentonite (wilkenite') and 70 parts by we1ght of water, although the ro- PPItlOIlS may be varied somewhat from t ose giyen. These ingredients are thoroughly mixed together So that the oil is in the internal phase and the colloidal clay and water are in the external phase.

The emission having been, prepared, a paste is then formed consisting of about 20 parts of the emulsion, parts of a relatively weak alkaline salt and 20 parts of a filler, such as silica of say, 200 mesh fineness. One of several salts may be used, or a mixture of two or more salts, of which the following are examples: disodium phosphate; sodium pyrophosphate; sodium bicarbonate; ammomum bicarbonate; and/or sodium and ammonium phosphate.

In carrying out the compounding of the substance commercially, an ordinary tank mixer with agitating paddles is used in which the emulsion is prepared. Warm water and 'bentonite are first mixed together to form a creamy homogenous li uid, to which is added warm oil which ecomes thoroughly combinated with the aqueous dispersion of the clay to form the emulsion. This emulsion is very stable, and hence the separating of the. oil from the suspending liquid is very slow. Consequently, large quantities of the emulsion can be prepared and stored for use as needed, since but slight agitation is required to re-establish its original creamy and uniform consistency.

The emulsion which may either be taken directly from the mixing tank or from the stored supply, is mixed and thoroughly kneaded with the alkaline salts and filler in the proportions already stated, into the form of a highly plastic paste of butter consistency. In this form it is then formed into bricks of convenient size, and thence sliced into thin cakes or slabs, either b knife, wire or other slicing means. It is in the form of these thin cakes or wafers that the hair treating composition is preferably used, namely, by enclosing them within a fabric envelope as already described. The composition may also be used in the form of a powder, a paste or in a solution, depending on which is more convenient for use in the particular method of waving being used.

As thus compounded the hair treating 11c trates the hair and protects it against the excessive action of the alkaline steam and heat on the hair structure, the tendency of which, if not perfectly regulated, is to de-.

stroy the hair, leaving it lifeless, brittle and discolored. The presence of the oil steam, therefore, makes the hair soft, pliable and lustrous, at the same time counteracting the destructive action of the alkaline steam on the hair if allowed to continue too long. It therefore removes from the operation that element of uncertainty as to time of heat application, which is particularly difiicult to cope with, regardless of the care and experience of the operator, owing to the difference in texture of the hair of different individuals, as well as in difl'erent parts of the scalp of the same individual.

It follows, therefore, that by the use of the hair treating substance herein disclosed, satisfactory results can be assured even in the hands of less experienced operators. Similarly, hair of light shades and dyed hair, which are particularly'susceptible to discoloration, can be waved without difiiculty, in fact, in the treatment of dyed hair the dye is not only preserved, but becomes more permanently fixed thus imparting new life and luster into the hair.

The results thus obtainable with the hair treating substance, may be attributed to the fact that while the steam Works under the scale of the hair, the presence of the oil steam prevents the alkaline steam from attacking the body of the hair, with the disestrous results already described.

The physical properties of the substance are also of importance as compared with the loose and powdered form of the ordinary borax now in use. In the first place, the presence of bentonite, not only acts as an emulsifying agent, but also as a plasticizing and bonding agent which unites the entire mass into a porous structure which does not crumble when dry and gives it highly plastic properties when moistened, allowing a close contact with the hair. Moreover, the substance has inherent adhesive properties, increased viscosity when heated and decreased expansion, all of which add greatly to ease of application and the elimination of many of the trying aspects of the present hair waving treatments. Finally, the physical properties of the substance is such that vides a leakproof pad whichmay beshifppiad ling o t 1e and handled without the crum substance and its sifting through or shifting in, the envelope.

Having thus disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention consisting of a composition of matter having certain chemical and physical properties as advantageous in the treatment of hair in the process of hair waving, it is to be understood that certain modifications or variations in the exact nature or ]proportions of the ingredients used'aswe as in the process of compounding the same may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention: 1. A composition of matter for the purpose described, consisting of a mixture of an emulsion of a non-drylng oil, a colloidal clay, and .water, and an alkaline salt.

'2. A composition of matter for the purpose described, consistin' of an emulsion of a non-drying oil, a colloidal clay and water,

1zalilelatively weak alkaline salt, and a mineral 3. A composition of matter for the purpose described, consistin of an emulsion of olive oil, colloidal clay o the bentonite type and Water, to which is added a salt showin a weak alkaline reaction, and a minera filler.

4. A composition of matter for the purpose described, consisting of an emulsion of substantially twenty-five parts of a non-drylng oil, five parts of a colloidal clay, and seventy parts of water, to which is added an alkaline salt and a filler to a plastic consistency.

5. A composition of matter for the purpose deseribed, consisting of an emulsion of substantiallg twenty-five parts of a nondrying oil, ve parts of colloidal clay, of the bentonite type, and seventy parts of water, mixed with an alkaline salt and a mineral filler in the proportion of substantially twenty to sixty to twenty parts, respectively.

6. A composition of matter for the purpose described, consisting of a physical mixture of twenty parts of an emulsion of substantially twenty-five partsof olive oil, five parts of bentonite (wilkenite) with seventy parts of water and sixty parts of a salt hav ing a relatively weak alkaline reaction, and twenty parts of fine silica.

7 Ahair treating composition for the purpose described, comprising in combination with an alkaline steam producing agent, of an emulsion of a non-drying vegetable-oil a colloidal clay of the bentonite type and water.

8. A method of compounding a composition of matter for the purpose described, consisting of forming an emulsion of oil, bentonite and water, adding an alkaline consisting of preparing an emulsion of olive 011; bentonlte and Water, agitating the emulsion to a creamy consistency; adding an alkaline salt to the emulsion, and suflicient l0 finesilica to reduce'the mixture to a pasty consistency capable of being divided into thin wafer form. V I

Signed at Chicago, 111., this 22nd day of March, 1927.

ERNEST O. SCHNELL. 

